Review: Esperanza by Rupert Reyes, Esperanza Productions, Austin

by Michael Meigs
Published on October 28, 2026

Rupert Reyes's ESPERANZA is sentimental but hums with indignation over males who assume they can exploit women. Karina Dominguez is the vibrant heart of this performance.

Rupert Reyes's script for Esperanza carries all the gentle affection he has always expressed for his community. In my very second Austin theatre review on June 9, 2008, I called his Petra's Sueño "generous-hearted" and his titular character "matter-of-fact, optimistic, and industrious without complaint." Those same qualitites appear in Esperanza, a return venture after he and JoAnn Carreon Reyes retired from theatre work in 2017 and turned over Teatro Vivo to younger hands. It's fitting, …

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